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OpenCongress Summary

This bill would add a fifth tier of unemployment insurance benefits in states with unemployment rates above 7.5%. The new tier would provide 20 additional weeks of benefits payments, but it would not pay back benefits retroactively to cover the period between when the last tier expired and the new tier takes effect. The bill also includes a one-year extension of two tax credits for businesses that hire unemployed workers. For more info, see our Blog coverage and our publicly-editable BenefitWiki for state-by-state info.

OpenCongress bill summaries are written by OpenCongress editors and are entirely independent of Congress and the federal government. For the summary provided by Congress itself, via the Congressional Research Service, see the "Official Summary" below.

Official Summary

Americans Want to Work Act - Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 with respect to the state-established individual emergency unemployment compensation account (EUCA). Requires a further additional Tier-5 period for deposits to an individual's EUCA if, at the time the amount

Official Summary

Americans Want to Work Act - Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 with respect to the state-established individual emergency unemployment compensation account (EUCA). Requires a further additional Tier-5 period for deposits to an individual's EUCA if, at the time the amount added to such individual's account under the Act is exhausted or at any time thereafter, the individual's state is in an extended benefit period. Prescribes a formula for making such Tier-5 credits. Increases the figures in the basic EUC formula (the lesser of which shall be the amount credited): (1) from 50% to 80% of the total amount of regular compensation (including dependents' allowances) payable to the individual during the benefit year; and (2) from 13 to 20 times the individual's average weekly benefit amount for the benefit year. Prescribes a formula for determining if a state is in an extended benefit period. Allows the Tier-5 period augmentation to be applied to the individual's EUCA only once. Authorizes a state to pay extended compensation to an otherwise eligible individual before any further additional emergency unemployment compensation (EUC), if such individual claimed extended compensation for at least one week of unemployment after the exhaustion of additional EUC. Authorizes a state to elect to pay Tier-4 EUC before payment of Tier-5 EUC until the state determines that such Tier-5 EUC may be paid without undue delay. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through December 31, 2011, the exemption of an employer from payment of employment taxes or railroad retirement taxes for individuals who begin employment after August 4, 2010. Excludes from account for Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) tax purposes any employment by the Bureau of the Census as a temporary enumerator for the 2010 decennial census. Amends the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act to allow an increase in the general business tax credit for the retention of a qualified long-term unemployed worker who: (1) is a retained worker; (2) certifies by signed affidavit that he or she has not been employed during a specified 693-day period or has exhausted all unemployment insurance benefits under federal or state law in less than 693 days; and (3) begins employment with a qualified employer after the enactment of this Act and before January 1, 2012.

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